The kids were at the in-laws last week while I was at Camp Highland (camp post to come soon) and they got some great photos of the kids. I know I'm biased, but these kiddos are pretty darn cute!
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
Father's Day (a day late)
Happy Father's Day to two of the best! I love you and am so thankful for you both!
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| Look at me getting all crafty! |
Saturday, June 9, 2012
God Showed Up
So, I've been meaning to post this story for a while now, but we've been crazy busy this summer which has left little time for blogging. Two kids and four teenagers translate into me serving as a taxi driver for the month of June! Anywho......here's an amazing story that I just have to share.
Two of our teenagers who are brothers lost their father a few months ago and during the days that immediately followed his passing, James and I were made aware that the family was struggling to come up with the money to pay for the funeral and burial arrangements. We asked for the help of our bible class at Highland to help raise some money to help the family out. The overwhelming generosity of our class generated over $1,300 toward the costs. It was amazing and we were so grateful.
However, a few days later, we received a call from the boys' mother and she informed us that she needed an additional $1,800 to cover the costs and had less than 24 hours to come up with it. The funeral home wasn't going to be able to put them on a payment plan like we had originally thought. It was a Wednesday evening and we were just about to head out the door to church. It was the topic of discussion the whole ride there. James and I didn't know what to do. How do we come up with $1,800 in less than 24 hours when we've already tapped into our greatest resource?? I was discouraged and felt completely hopeless. I didn't know what to do. We agreed to check with a few other folks that we knew would like to contribute and just do the best we could even if that meant falling short of the total.
That night as we loaded up in the car to go home, James said, "You're not going to believe what happened tonight." He had received a phone call during class from a man that wanted to give us $500 for the funeral and burial costs. We couldn't believe it. We rushed home and looked he and his family up in our pictorial directory. We recognized them, but until that night, had never really known who they were. This family had heard about our need from a member of our class that they work with. He said that they had watched us bring those boys to church for the past couple of years and had always wanted to do something to help, but just didn't know how. So when they heard about our need, they knew they wanted to help. We were so grateful for their generosity. But this story gets even better...
I made arrangements to pick up a check from this man the next day. I felt like hugging his neck, but since we didn't really know each other, I refrained! He handed me a sealed envelope and told me that if they still needed more, to let him know. I just said a great big "THANK YOU" and then drove out of the parking lot. When I got home, I opened the envelope and saw that the check was written out for $1000. $1000!!!! What? From a guy that we hadn't even met until today?? I just burst into tears and was overwhelmed with this family's generosity and the power of God. HE did it. In less than 24 hours HE provided what was needed. What the Quinn family needed. And in a way that only he could. And what's even crazier is that when it was all said and done, and all donations were in, we had $1,800 exactly. To the penny. I believe God was trying to send me a message and I got it LOUD and CLEAR.
I learned a lot through this process. As I watched the boys deal with their pain and grief, I was reminded that this life is not fair. It hurts sometimes. Badly. But thank God there is a place to look forward to where there will be no more tragedy and no more gut-wrenching pain. And it's our hope and faith in that special place that seems to drive us forward through tragedy. God is GOOD and he does show up in this life in big ways!
Two of our teenagers who are brothers lost their father a few months ago and during the days that immediately followed his passing, James and I were made aware that the family was struggling to come up with the money to pay for the funeral and burial arrangements. We asked for the help of our bible class at Highland to help raise some money to help the family out. The overwhelming generosity of our class generated over $1,300 toward the costs. It was amazing and we were so grateful.
However, a few days later, we received a call from the boys' mother and she informed us that she needed an additional $1,800 to cover the costs and had less than 24 hours to come up with it. The funeral home wasn't going to be able to put them on a payment plan like we had originally thought. It was a Wednesday evening and we were just about to head out the door to church. It was the topic of discussion the whole ride there. James and I didn't know what to do. How do we come up with $1,800 in less than 24 hours when we've already tapped into our greatest resource?? I was discouraged and felt completely hopeless. I didn't know what to do. We agreed to check with a few other folks that we knew would like to contribute and just do the best we could even if that meant falling short of the total.
That night as we loaded up in the car to go home, James said, "You're not going to believe what happened tonight." He had received a phone call during class from a man that wanted to give us $500 for the funeral and burial costs. We couldn't believe it. We rushed home and looked he and his family up in our pictorial directory. We recognized them, but until that night, had never really known who they were. This family had heard about our need from a member of our class that they work with. He said that they had watched us bring those boys to church for the past couple of years and had always wanted to do something to help, but just didn't know how. So when they heard about our need, they knew they wanted to help. We were so grateful for their generosity. But this story gets even better...
I made arrangements to pick up a check from this man the next day. I felt like hugging his neck, but since we didn't really know each other, I refrained! He handed me a sealed envelope and told me that if they still needed more, to let him know. I just said a great big "THANK YOU" and then drove out of the parking lot. When I got home, I opened the envelope and saw that the check was written out for $1000. $1000!!!! What? From a guy that we hadn't even met until today?? I just burst into tears and was overwhelmed with this family's generosity and the power of God. HE did it. In less than 24 hours HE provided what was needed. What the Quinn family needed. And in a way that only he could. And what's even crazier is that when it was all said and done, and all donations were in, we had $1,800 exactly. To the penny. I believe God was trying to send me a message and I got it LOUD and CLEAR.
I learned a lot through this process. As I watched the boys deal with their pain and grief, I was reminded that this life is not fair. It hurts sometimes. Badly. But thank God there is a place to look forward to where there will be no more tragedy and no more gut-wrenching pain. And it's our hope and faith in that special place that seems to drive us forward through tragedy. God is GOOD and he does show up in this life in big ways!
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